Pencil



F. J. TERRELL.

PENCIL;

APPLICATION FILED JIJLY 9.1920.

Patented Dec. 7, 1920.

IIII ENTOR E J. T EfiPfLL M B MEI 8 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFIc E.

FRANK J. TERRELL, OF WATERBURY, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE HOGE MANU- FACTURING- GOMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N.Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

PENCIL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 7, 1920.

Application filed July 9, 1920. Serial No. 394,948.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK J. TERRELL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Waterbury, county of New Haven, State of Connecticut, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Pencils, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to metallic clutch pencils and has for its object to produce an inexpensive, handy and eflicient clutch pencil for adjustably holding leads therein. It further has for its object to provide a pencil in which the flexible members of the clutch extend approximately the full length of the casing and are held in clutching position by the engagement of screw-threads located adjacent on the rear end of the casing and on a plug carrying the flexible clutch members. It further has for its object to provide a simple and effective means for securing the flexible clutch members to the plug so that they rotate with the plug.

The following is a description of an embodiment of my invention reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure 1 shows a side elevation of a pencil embodying my invention;

Fig. 2' shows a side elevation of the internal clutch member within the casing in section.

Fig. 3 shows the internal portion with the upper end of the flexible strip and plug in section;

Fig. 4 shows a section of the pencil on the line 4-4, Fig. 2; and

Fig. 5 shows a detail of the strips before bending.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, 1 is a drawn tube pencil casing tapered at its lower end 2 and provided with screwthreads 3 adjacent to its upper end. 4 is a plug having external screw-threads 5 adapted to engage with the internal surface of the screw threads 3 and formed with an internal bore 6. Within this bore extend the upper ends of two flexible metal strips 7, the upper ends of which are placed in the bore and held therein by means of a tightly fitting peg 9 driven in so as to be held firmly in place. The two strips 7 preferably have an integral connection 8 joining them together at their upper ends. This connection is preferably within the plug and inline with the plane passing through the strips so that when the connected strips are taken out the structure thus formed can be straightened out into one continuous length as shown in Fig. 5. Notches 11 are formed at the sides of the connection 8 to facilitate bending at that point. By forming the two strips with an integral connection, the manufacture is somewhat simplified and by forming them with the integral connection shown they can, together with their connecting portion, be formed from a single extended length of the width of either of the strips. This particular integral construction, therefore, not only adds to the ease of manufacture and the strength of the pencil but makes it possible to manufacture the strips so as to have an integral connection without the necessity of slitting or longitudinal cutting.

The two strips are bent so as to partially embrace the lead 12 as shown in Fig. 4. 10 is the ordinary pencil clip which may be applied if desired.

In inserting the lead, the plug may be partially unscrewed and the lead inserted through the point ofthe pencil, whereupon the plug can be screwed into it so as to bring the lower ends of the flexible clutch members in engagement with the inner surface of the tapered portion 2 of the casing which forces those ends against the lead resulting in clamping of the lead firmly. New leads can thus be easily inserted or a lead already in place can be moved back in the casing so as to be housed against injury. The pencil is simple in construction and operation and readily manufactured.

As will be evident to those skilled in the art my invention permits of various modifications without departing from the spirit thereof or the scope of the appended claims' What I claim is:

1.. In a clutch pencil the combination of. a casing having an internally tapered point at one end and screw-threads a. the other end, with a hollow plug having screwthreads engaging the casing threads, flexible strips entering said plug and a peg entering said plug between said strips and wedgingsaid strips therein.

2. In a clutch pencil the combination of a casing having an internally tapered point at one end and screw-threads at the other end, with a hollow plug having screwthreads engaging the casing threads, flexible strips entering said plug and a peg entering said plug between said strips and Wedging said strips therein, said strips having an integral connection joining them together adjacent to said plug.

3. In a clutch pencil the combination of a casing having an internally tapered point at one end and screw-threads at the other end, With a hollow plug having screwing said plug between said strips and Wedging said strips therein,said strips having an integral connection joining them together adjacent to said plug, said connection being in line With the plane passing through the axes of said strips and Within said plug.

FRANK J. TERRELL. 

